He put the pendant back. "That"s okay. Maybe another time."
As they turned around, Tyler picked up a necklace to match the ugly earrings and headed for the cash register with Kat trailing close behind.
Luke gritted his teeth. "What"s going on? Why is he buying that for her?"
Cindy smiled, grateful for the change of subject. "They spend a lot of time together at youth group. I know Tyler likes her. He"s not a bad kid. He"s a good student, and he treats others right. At least from what I"ve seen."
They waited for Tyler to be finished at the till then continued through the market. Cindy did her best to tell them everything she knew about the market"s history, including the story of Rachel the Pig, a bronze statue whose only absence from the market was for a few days of repairs and a polishing after she got hit by a taxi, which fortunately hadn"t been fatal.
When they had acc.u.mulated all the vegetables they needed from Tyler"s list, Luke bought a fish. They watched it fly through the air with Kat taking a video on her cell phone, including the men wrapping it to take home.
Once Luke had it in his hands, he tested the weight of it. "This is a really big fish for just the two of us. How would you both like to join us tonight, and I"ll barbecue it."
Tyler shook his head. "I have to be home for supper because my grandparents are coming over. But thanks for asking."
Cindy tried to act more relaxed than she felt. She hadn"t planned on doing anything more than taking them to the market, but Kat was looking at her with puppy-dog eyes and making it hard to turn Luke down. She didn"t think it was a good idea, but she didn"t know how to say no with Kat looking at her like that.
She pasted on a smile that she hoped didn"t look as fake as it felt. "That sounds like fun. But only if I can buy dessert."
Luke smiled, and at the sight, her heart did a silly flipflop in her chest.
"That would be great," he said. "Let"s go."
Luke wrapped the salmon in tinfoil while Cindy and Kat talked in Kat"s bedroom with the door closed. After a rather embarra.s.sing trip through the women"s section at the drugstore yesterday, he knew Kat was asking Cindy about girl things he knew nothing about and didn"t want to know about.
And while he was in a state of not knowing, he also didn"t know if what he was doing was a very good idea.
His original thought was that Kat needed a woman to talk to, but as soon as Cindy came inside his house, a million hesitations. .h.i.t him.
For so long, this was exactly what he"d wanted to happen-to invite Cindy over for dinner in his home. He hadn"t asked before today because he knew she"d say no. Today she"d accepted, but he knew she hadn"t been very enthusiastic. She wasn"t here because of him. She was here because of Kat-who would spend the evening acting as a buffer between them because, like an idiot, he"d told Kat how he felt about Cindy.
He walked outside to light the grill then returned to the kitchen to wrap the potatoes in tinfoil as well.
"I feel bad," Cindy"s voice echoed behind him. "Is there anything I can do?"
He turned around. "Nope. I was going to have the salmon, some baked potatoes, and a salad. The salad"s already made."
"Salad?" Her eyebrows rose. "I"m impressed."
Kat made a rude noise beside her. "Don"t be. It came in a bag, already cut. Come on. Let me show you the pond in the backyard. It"s got fish in it."
As suddenly as the ladies had appeared, they were gone.
Spending all the time alone in the kitchen wasn"t what he"d envisioned about the day Cindy finally crossed his threshold. But neither had he envisioned suddenly having a fifteen-year-old daughter to care for. It didn"t matter that she really was only his niece. With her parents gone, he didn"t want to be just an uncle who happened to be her legal guardian. He loved her and wanted to be everything for her that her father now couldn"t.
He put the salmon into the fridge, set the timer on his cell phone to vibrate after an hour and a half, and carried the potatoes into the backyard.
Cindy approached him and watched him position the potatoes neatly in the center of the barbecue grill.
"Your home and yard are lovely."
"Thank you," he said as he adjusted the flame and closed the lid. "My mother"s only brother, who never married, made a fortune in the oil industry back in the seventies. After my parents died, my brother and I were his only living relatives, and when he died, he left me with a generous trust fund. When I gained control at twenty-five, the first thing I did was build myself this house. You can do a lot when you don"t have a mortgage." As the words left his mouth, he grimaced inwardly. While he wanted Cindy to become interested in him, he didn"t want his financial independence to be the reason.
"You decorated everything yourself, didn"t you?"
"Yes." Luke"s hand froze on the handle of the barbecue. Of all the things he thought she"d say, that wasn"t on the list.
"It shows."
"Is that bad?" He didn"t know quite how to take what she"d said. His home and yard were exactly the way he wanted them. Comfortable, practical, and in colors he liked. Nothing trendy or chic. His was the home of a single guy who didn"t have to worry about cost, a home that didn"t need a woman"s touch.
Cindy smiled and rested one hand on his forearm. "I like it. It"s nice. Homey and unpretentious."
He felt himself relax. "I have to do something with Kat"s room, but I thought I"d let her settle in first."
"Good call. She talked to me about some ideas, but I told her she shouldn"t be asking me, she should be asking you."
"She can do whatever she wants. As long as she doesn"t paint the whole thing black."
Cindy grinned. "She won"t. She likes pink." Cindy glanced over her shoulder. "Here she comes. We"d better change the subject. Kat wouldn"t like it if she knew we were talking about her."
Luke nodded, struggling to keep a straight face. She didn"t know the times that he and Kat had talked about her, and hopefully she never would.
Cindy cleared her throat, speaking louder than she had a few seconds ago. "I like your pond. But aren"t you worried about cats or racc.o.o.ns eating your fish?"
"Nope. They"re koi. They"re too big for cats but not for racc.o.o.ns. When I was building the pond I did my research and built it nice and deep with steep sides and gave the koi lots of places to hide. The racc.o.o.ns gave up, but the neighborhood cats still come into the yard. They"ll never catch one, but it sure is annoying to watch them try."
"Maybe you should have a dog."
Kat skipped up to them. "Are we going to get a puppy? I"ve always wanted a puppy."
Inwardly, Cindy cringed. "No, I meant-"
"No puppy?" Kat"s smile got even larger. "You mean an adult dog? From a rescue? Tyler volunteers at Homeward Pet rescue shelter in Woodinville. He says people always want a puppy, which makes it hard for mature dogs who need a good home. He says there are lots of good dogs waiting for a home. Are we going to the rescue to get a dog?"
Luke shook his head. "We can"t have a dog when there"s no one home for ten hours. It"s not fair to lock a dog in the house all day."
Kat rocked back and forth on her feet. "Then take him to work with you. You can"t get fired for bringing your dog to work. You"re the boss. Or at least one of them."
"I...Uh..." He"d always liked dogs, but he"d never considered that he could actually take one to work. "I never thought of it like that...." His mind whirled in circles, piecing together how he might be able to handle taking a dog to work with him all day and dealing with both a dog and Kat all evening.
Kat squealed, clapped her hands, and danced on the spot. "I"m getting a dog! I"m getting a dog!" She jumped up, spun, ran to the fish pond, and then bent down to talk to the koi. "We"re getting a dog!" She dropped herself to sit on the ground beside the pond. A split second before her bottom hit the gra.s.s, she pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and started texting.
Luke sighed. "It looks like I"m getting a dog."
Cindy pressed her palms to her cheeks, and her face paled. "I"m so sorry. I didn"t mean to start something."
He sucked in a deep breath, thinking of all the responsibilities he"d been handed recently. "It"s okay, I guess. Besides, I"ve always wanted a dog. It"s time to put my money where my mouth is. Do you want to help put the salad, such as it is, together while she tells the koi and everyone else about our future family member?"
Cindy followed him back to the kitchen, where he dug the bag of salad and a few extras out of the fridge and laid them on the counter.
They chatted about dogs in general until he began to think he"d be dogged out by the time he got his new dog, which he had a feeling was going to be tomorrow after church. So he changed the subject. To his delight, they were both reading the same book, a recent release by one of his favorite authors. He had a great time conjecturing with Cindy who the evil mastermind of the story"s plot would be, and he knew he"d be up until well past midnight reading instead of sleeping.
He had suspected that he and Cindy had a connection since the first time they"d met, but after today he was sure.
When the timer on his cell phone set his pocket vibrating, they took the salmon to the barbecue and sat on the patio while it cooked.
When everything was ready, Kat joined them.
She pointed at his koi pond. "I don"t know how you"re going to eat their cousin and live without guilt."
"You"re only saying that so you can have my portion."
Kat giggled. "Busted."
Cindy giggled along with Kat. "Nice try. I wish I"d thought of that."
With Kat"s return, most of the conversation changed to her interests, including a new video on You Tube that Luke knew nothing about. Instead of trying to be part of a conversation that he couldn"t really contribute to, Luke sat back and let the women talk. He knew Cindy didn"t do it on purpose, but he could see that she was more animated and more relaxed with Kat than she was with him. Which, despite the wonderful time he had when it was just the two of them, confirmed what he thought when he"d first issued the invitation for her to join them.
Cindy wasn"t there because of him. She was there because of Kat.
He"d been falling hard and fast for Cindy, but she didn"t feel the same way about him. He didn"t want to admit it, but now the facts were obvious.
If he played it right, he could probably gain her interest through Kat, but that wasn"t what he wanted. He wanted the woman he would eventually marry to love his niece, but it was more important that she love him first.
Cindy gasped at something Kat said, and then the two of them broke into a fit of giggles.
She liked dogs. She liked his niece. She liked his home.
She just didn"t like him. At least not the same way that he liked her.
One day he would find the love of his life.
If he could get this one out of his heart.
Chapter 6.
Annie, I need you to schedule appointments as people come in for a while. I have to go across the lot to the car rental."
"I thought you weren"t interested in Mr. Hottie."
Cindy sucked in a deep breath and counted to ten. "I have something I need to discuss with Luke that can"t be done over the phone." Or rather, it was something she needed to see. "I"ll be back in ten minutes."
Without waiting for Annie to reply, Cindy dashed across the parking lot. Or at least she dashed as much as her steel-toed safety boots would allow.
Sure enough when she pushed the door open, instead of a buzzer sounding to announce her arrival, she heard a bark.
Cindy couldn"t help but smile at the fuzzy little dog sitting in a brand-new doggy bed in the corner of the office, looking up at her.
"What a sweet dog. Is it a boy or a girl?"
"Girl. They said she"s a cross of about a hundred different breeds. Give or take."
As Luke listed a number of possibilities, the dog stood but slowly, wobbling.
"The rescue said she"s about two years old, and she-"
Cindy gasped. "-only has three legs!"
Luke stepped out from behind the counter, hunkered down, and gave the dog a gentle pat. "She was abandoned because she was in a car accident. The people who hit her took her to a vet who saved her life, but the owners didn"t want to pay for the bill and neither did the people who hit her, so the vet put her up for adoption at the rescue."
The dog approached Cindy, tail wagging.
Cindy reached down to pat her and got a delicate lick of appreciation.
Luke stood. "Kat renamed her Tippy. The rescue people said she"ll get more steady and balance better as time goes on."
"She doesn"t seem to be unhappy."
"The vet said she"d be fine as long as we watch her weight."
"Kat"s okay with this?"
Luke chortled. "The people at the rescue said the dog has been very shy and even frightened of people. Kat only said one word and the dog immediately went to her. As soon as they told her what happened, she didn"t want to see any of the other dogs. It looks like Tippy"s a keeper."
As Cindy looked up at Luke, her eyes started to burn. Fortunately the old Chevy she"d been expecting rumbled into the parking lot. She turned her head so Luke couldn"t see her face. "That"s really nice. The Chevy is early. I"ve got to go. See you later." She dashed out the door before Luke could respond. As soon as she rounded the corner of the shop, where Luke couldn"t see her, she swiped her sleeve across her face.
She couldn"t believe she had actually started to sniffle. Over a dog. Or maybe the dog"s owner.
She didn"t want to like him, yet the more time she spent with him, the harder it became. But regardless of her feelings for him, it wouldn"t be fair or practical to drag someone into the heat of her personal battles. Even if she could ignore the legal quagmire, if she did start a relationship with Luke, it wouldn"t be long before Annie had her claws out because Annie wanted him, too.
She couldn"t get involved with Luke right now, for both their sakes.
At least there was no risk of catfights if she got involved with...Kat.
Cindy covered her face with her hands. She almost laughed at her own joke, except it was too pathetic.
"Cindy! Are you coming?" Annie yelled from the office. "That...one you"ve been waiting for is here!"
Cindy gritted her teeth. Annie had never appreciated the beauty of a cla.s.sic old car or the satisfaction of bringing one back to its former glory. At least this time she hadn"t called it a wreck in front of the owner.